Tree Ambassadors

Community Carbon Trees offers a way to become part of a biodiverse reforestation movement with compounded benefits close to the Equator. Here is a list of our dedicated Tree Ambassadors that gain tree sponsorships around the world.

Want to become a Tree Ambassador? Send us an email at communitycarbontrees@gmail.com for the application. We send monthly emails to all Tree Ambassadors with ideas and inspiration. We present to you our Tree Ambassadors.

Amber Hagberg Yoga Surf Retreats

When creating my yoga retreats, my passion and heart was to inspire others to bring their practice on the mat into their day to day life. What is a conscious yoga practice if it doesn't manifest into our community and the world around us? I am so excited to bring my students to Community Carbon trees as a way to give back to the plant, mother nature. Our yoga practice strengthens our relationship to ourselves so we inevidablely strengthen our relationship with our friends, family, community, AND MOTHER NATURE! When we travel, buy yoga clothes or accessories, and engage in the material world we effect the rawness of mother nature - my students and I will plant trees to create more carbon, food, and energy. As we take, we give. As we give, we take. Finding a way to Live our Yoga on, and off the mat.

Arbor Zen

Arbor Zen is a hardwood flooring company based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Grayson Deal, the company's president, met and became friends with Jennifer Leigh Smith in September of 2016. Since then, the company has been an active ACCT Tree Ambassador, donating monthly to the program. This wonderful business collaboration helps the company meet their goal of planting 25 trees for every floor installed. Grayson developed this goal, mindful of offsetting CO2 emissions, as well as maintaining environmentally responsible production & being socially engaged by giving back with the #25TreePromise. All of this to help ensure a better future for our planet!As an Ambassador of Community Carbon Trees, Arbor Zen is excited to be able to contribute from their home in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The active planting of trees within 10° of the equator, where hibernation is not necessary, ensures that the company's donation is going as far as absolutely possible, without creating carbon by traveling to the tropics every month! The largest amount of carbon sequestration achievable, and a beautiful business partnership. Thank you Community Carbon Trees for allowing us to contribute to your cause. Read more @ www.ArborZen.com

CR Surf

Greg Gordon (@crsurf) helps people plan surf trips to Costa Rica. He has been coming to Costa Rica for over 20 years, and fell in love with the powerful presence of nature around the beach town of Dominical. He grew up in Virginia Beach, watching as vast swaths of forest were chopped down to make room for condos and wider highways. While teaching in Florida he witnessed mangroves being cut to make for better waterfront views. And in Costa Rica he has seen how unregulated development has caused erosion in the mountains and along the coasts.

When he first moved to Costa Rica in 1998, he started a group called the Basura Busters that did monthly beach cleanups. He also volunteered with ASANA, which helps create biological corridors in the southern part of the country. When he was back in the U.S., he was an active volunteer with the Surfrider Foundation plus organized recycling programs in public schools. There he learned the importance of trees to help filter out pollutants, act as a buffer for hurricanes, and provide habitat for a variety of fauna.

Now he uses his travel company as a platform to teach others the importance of protecting the environment. “Any chance to sponsor a tree and have it cared for is a step to reverse the damage that humans have done to our planet,” explains the owner of CR Surf Travel Company. “For every vacation package we sell, we will sponsor a tree for each traveler. This will help offset their carbon footprint and ensure a sustainable future for Costa Rica as a world class surf destination.”
~~~
CR Surf Travel Company - Costa Rica Surf & Travel ExpertsA Dugans Travel ConsultantToll free - 877-787-3007 (SURF-007)Member - 1% for the Planet & the Surfrider Foundation

Danyasa

Sofiah Thom is an active ACCT Tree Ambassador through her eco-yoga retreats in Dominical Costa Rica where her students participate in SEVA service activities with hands on participation in the ACCT tree nursery in Platanillo. Additionally, every student who participates in her retreats sponsors a Community Carbon Tree to offset their CO2 with long term fair paid community reforestation. Sofiah shares her beliefs in giving back to Source and embodying YES in every aspect of life. Her beautiful and powerful movement and dance are a testament to the celebration of life and the embodiment of the feminine GAIA with honor for the Trees which breathe every breath of life here with each of us. By Sofiah, "Every day we? plug back into Source through our breath, our practice, the raw nature we dance in. WE are So blessed to hold sanctuary for such deep empowering transformation."

DCP David Carrier Porchron

David Porchron (DCP) is a professional snowboarder and North Face Athlete.

He works with YES and lives with Megan Pischke in Squamish, BC. DCP became one of our first Tree Ambassadors with his wife Megan Pischke when ACCT was first starting out. David first connected ACCT with Spy Optics for a special pair of his DCP snowboard goggles with a percentage given to plant rainforest trees for future generations. Then DCP, keeping balance with Nature, helped to connect ACCT with both PROTECT OUR WINTERS a group that educated and works to fight climate change. He created a TREE SHIRT featured by PROTECT our WINTERS each year as a way to encourage more tree sponsors. DCP was also instrumental with Megan to introduce ACCT community reforestation to Jeremy Jones and Jones SNowboards who has become a strong corporate sponsor and voice for ACCT as well. DAVID understands that one tree at a time, one connection at a time is the sure way to get the word out. DAVID has championed sponsoring over 400 trees already with ACCT. His film BALANCE is an example of producing a carbon conscious film with offsets for travel. Thank you DAVID for being so awesome. ACCT appreciates your example as a Carbon Neutral athlete.

Dina Delaini

Dina is owner and qigong instructor of Solfeggio Retreat Sanctuary. Dina finds sponsors for trees who are traveling in costa rica and want to offset their footprints.

Eduardo and Jessica

Community Leaders Eduardo and Jessica live and work in San Jose de Rivas--a tiny pueblo making a big difference preventing further desertification in an over-farmed area very near the highest mountain peak in Costa Rica and the Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves.

Eduardo Hidalgo Cruz – Age 45, Campesino

Jessica Ann Manley – Age 43, Gringa

A typical day in the small pueblo where Eduardo and 127 other family and friends were born revolves around food, shelter and of course, G-d. You could say they are the inventors of sustainable living, but they wouldn’t. He is part of a local environmental protection group who were kids before electricity brought them all down from the mountains to settle in a central location and build a school. They are the stewards of their fathers’ land. The “locos” (crazies) who left at least some part of their land to nature and are now enjoying the rewards of an advanced second-growth rainforest in a microclimate perfect for growing food and families.

The area of Rivas, San Isidro del General is known for its rich cultural, agricultural and ecological history but all that could be lost to out of control erosion. Massive landslides are a dramatic reminder what happens in a "Green Desert" where agro-chemicals are used on a regular basis to treat tired soil devoid of natural defenses like trees and water. Planting trees makes total sense from the ground up.

“Agua es vida,” (Water is life,) is one of Eduardo’s favorite sayings. Mine too. Our common goal is to be stewards for not only the land, but all living things in our community (Earth).

To this end, we chose to work with long-time expat-local Jennifer Smith of Community Carbon Trees because planting trees is a simple solution to multiple environmental and social issues--right here, right now.

Won't you take a moment right now to sponsor a tree or seven?

Meanwhile we'll be here

“Luchando pa’ amor. Como siempre.”

(Laboring for love. Like always.)

Heart,

Eduardo y Jessica

Envision Festival 2016

Envision Festival encourages people to offset their carbon dioxide emitted from traveling to the event in Costa Rica Since it's inception, Envision has sponsored diverse native trees produced, planted and maintained with regular, active paid labor on farms owned by Costa Ricans. So far, Envisionaries have sponsored 558 native rainforest trees guaranteed to thrive by hardworking fair paid communities on their own previously deforested pasturelands. These trees will sequester or offset more than 558 tons of CO2 and form new biodiverse forests full of sustainable food, medicine, products, oxygen, water and fertile soil. ACCT empowers local men and women to stop deforestation by creating dignified jobs centered on growing sustainable reforestation business. Jennifer Smith shares all the reasons to love planting Equator trees as a proven solution to mitigate climate change and poverty for future generations with everyone at Envision. Go find her special Tree ZENTER at Envision and ask about her inspirational story to inspire your own sustainable purpose in life. Every Tree Makes a Difference!

Erica Largen

Erica is our SEO specialist from Virginia. When she's not developing our online presence, she spreads the word of how to solve global warming by sponsoring biodiverse carbon-sequestering trees in Costa Rica. Erica has been an active environmental leader since 2006. She was president of the largest environmental student group at Virginia Tech. After graduating college in honors with two degrees in 2013, she developed her SEO skills in local businesses selling old-time products like glass milk bottles and galvanized buckets. Erica knows we can solve the biggest environmental and social challenges if we work together and focus on solutions like planting tropical rainforest trees.

Evan van der Poel

Evan van der Poel is from the Netherlands and is helping ACCT by speaking for the trees all over Europe. Having spent time volunteering with ACCT, he is also aware of the team effort and preparation necessary to produce, deliver and plant and maintain each and every tree. When people get a good close look at what we do like Evan did, ACCT truly appreciated their willingness to go out into the world and use their facebook pages and their networks to look for more sponsors. Evan is a delightful young man who is "selling trees" for a tiny commission, one of our first "tree salespersons". Do choose Evan as your Tree Ambassador and help us all show people around the world that working to encourage people around the world to sponsor trees with ACCT is a worthwhile and sustainable endeavor.

GROWING YOUR GREENS.com

John Kohler is the founder of Growing Your Greens.com. John hosts the most watched gardening show on youtube. It's a fun and enlightening show on how to grow food at your home and beyond. John provides you with tips and tricks as well as shares his experiences growing food at his urban homestead. John is dedicated to helping you sustainably grow the highest quality fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and other edible foods in your front yard and beyond.

Tree Jenny and John met at the Fruit the World Convergence in Costa Rica in September 2016. John immediately resonated with the model of Community Carbon Trees biodiverse reforestation to fight climate change while empowering local men and women with fair pair to plant trees on their own farms. JOHN is an ACCT Tree Ambassador because he believes that everyone can be a force for being the change for our planet. By sponsoring a single tree, everyday people support social and environmental education and responsibility while contributing healthy climate for the whole planet. After all, repairing the hydrological cycle by planting trees on the Equator means better rainfall cycles for EVERYONE no matter where you live. And more balanced rainfall means that you eat, drink and breathe well while "GROWING YOUR GREENS"

Jose Conde

Jose Conde is a a musician, singer, and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. He is a sonic artist and producer at PIPIKI Records LLC. His work OLA FRESCA among others, are widely known and appreciated. He has been coined by the NY Post as “One of New York’s most intriguing voices in Afro Carribean music.”

Jose also happens to have a farm in Costa Rica Puriscal mountain where he has has participated in reforestation. Jose believes that planting trees near the Equator is one of the best solutions we have available to balance climate change. So, Jose has organized a Tropical Tree Benefit in Brooklyn New York for November 2, 2017 to celebrate his 50th birthday. He has gathered an eclectic cast of Brooklyn musicians for a show and big to raise money for the planting of trees and raise awareness of the direct impact that planting trees makes on Global climate issues and so many other positive spinoff aspects. Jose says, “I think it is the best thing I can do on my 50th birthday on this planet.”

Kirsten Connelly

Kirsten Connelly has been working on technology transformation projects working in sales, customer success and consulting for 25 years. CCT is a model rooted in triple bottom line and agroecology which is why she passionately supports CCT’s work and facilitates spreading the model globally.

Kirsten has a Green MBA and works to bridge the world of high tech with regenerative systems like CCT that can scale to support the people and planet by building resilience to survive and thrive through the inevitable climate change on earth. She founded mindfulteens.org and is dedicated to educating young people to grow their inner strength to more clearly see and meet the climate change challenges they will contribute to solving.

Megan Pischke Porcheron

Megan has been snowboarding for over 17 years and practicing yoga nearly the same.

She truly feels that the mountains, the surf and yoga have been like old friends through the ups and downs of life and that they keep her in check on a daily basis. From X Games appearances to Warren Miller Film segments and first descents in Greenland, Megan continues to feel blessed for her lengthy snowboard career, involvement in the action sports industry and amazing travels. Transitioning from pro-athlete into motherhood, Megan continues to work with her longtime sponsor The North Face in product research, design and development in kids' and adult outerwear.

For more than 16 years, Megan has dedicated herself to Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC), a non-profit and a cause that means more than just "supporting" to her. Wanting to become more actively involved, Megan partnered with B4BC as a Wellness Ambassador to provide breast cancer survivors with scholarships to her ReTreat Yourself women's wellness experiences rooted in snowboarding, surfing, and yoga with a complementary focus on meditation, nutrition and other tools for prevention. To date, 35 survivors have attended these Mountain and Ocean ReTreats.

Megan Pischke Porchron is one of our very first Tree Ambassadors! She inspired this movement to help empower other people to use their voices out in the world on behalf of planting diverse rainforest trees with our reforestation community in Costa Rica. Megan wants to leave a healthy planet to her children. Megan is a NORTH FACE ATHLETE and uses her pro snowboarding background to lead her friends to our holistic approach to restoring the rainforest in order to repair and balance the water cycle. Megan understands how trees planted on the Equator recycle more water than trees planted anywhere else.

Megan is a force of Nature herself. Ironically, in the Fall of 2012, Megan was diagnosed with breast cancer and describes this new part of her journey as "a gift." Beyond her amazing, positive and confident outlook, Megs is blessed that she is now cancer free and reminds us all of the most important medicine to her, is just to be her'to raise her kids with love and hope, to snowboard and laugh with her friends, to surf, to do yoga on the top of the Chief, and watch sunsets with her husband. Living life as grateful and appreciative as she always has is just as much a part of her healing. see her award winning documentary Chasing Sunshine documenting her integrative approach to healing cancer. ACCT is grateful beyond measure that she has taken on rainforest tree planting work and made it her own. Thanks for constantly connecting ACCT and our community reforestation work to the world Megan! You are a shining star!~

Melissa Anne

My name is Melissa. I'm a treehugger from Colorado, USA.

I moved to Costa Rica to do some healing and have decided to help Jenny Tree Plant as many trees as possible in my lifetime!

Phoebe Andrews

Yantra creation is an art form that uses sacred geometry and color to evoke meditative state. Phoebe teaches Yoga & Yantra retreats globally! Phoebe believes in living artfully through her lifestyle, and yoga and creating art with meditative yantra drawing. She demonstrates her balance and belief in giving back to Mother Nature by encouraging people to sponsor trees. Her artistry runs throughout her life and Phoebe is a great inspiration to her students and friends. She has been a supporter of ACCT from the very beginning since meeting Jenny in Costa Rica. Collaborating with Phoebe has brought Jenny to Maine several times and Phoebe is a powerful connect for the trees!

Pineapple Tours

Properties in Costa Rica

Zoe Wright, Broker at the Uvita Office of Properties in Costa Rica

When I visited Uvita at the beginning of 2009, I immediately knew I wanted to call this amazing place home.I wanted to live close to some of the grandest forms of nature, the rainforest and the ocean.I longed for my future children to develop a deep appreciation, wonderment and respect and for nature.What better place for this to happen than in Costa Rica and in an area with nearly 20 km of protected coastline and seemingly endless acres of rainforest?

After moving to Uvita in 2010 from Canada, my son was born here in 2012 and I began working with Properties in Costa Rica that same year, making this unique area of the globe my official home.Throughout the years, it has become ever more clear to me how important it is for us to play our role in protecting the environment and cherishing that which the earth provides us.We all come to a place like the Costa Ballena because something draws us, be it the simple life, the dramatic landscape, the wonders of nature, whatever it may be, we connect to it.When we connect to something or someone, it is usually a reciprocal experience, our needs are met and we yield something in return; the earth gives us more than we could ever return to it, free of charge, for our true enjoyment.This area has enriched my life more than I could have ever imagined, and working with Jennifer and Carbon Community Trees is one of the very few things I feel I can do to show my gratitude to mother nature.

I am excited to know that my clients can also play their role in leaving a positive impact on the area.People purchase property here to create a life made of the “Pura Vida”, well the natural surroundings are one of the biggest parts of this lifestyle.In a world where many are focused solely on what they can get out of our natural resources, I desire for my clients to play a responsible role in giving back to the environment. Whether it is carbon offset when traveling to and from Costa Rica, or working with CCT to develop their property in a responsible manner, I am excited to facilitate a program which will contribute to the community and the environment.

Risa Kaparo Ph.d

Risa Kaparo, Ph.D. Risa Kaparo developed Somatic Learning® during three decades of research, clinical practice and training of health care practitioners. She has taught worldwide, including at MIT, China's Dalian Medical School, India’s Jindal Global University, JFK University, CIIS and Esalen and Kripalu. Dr. Kaparo leads workshops and professional trainings, and works with clients in the Bay Area and internationally on Skype. A long-time student of Vanda Scaravelli, David Bohm and Jiddu Krishnamurti, she has authored Awakening Somatic Intelligence: The Art & Practice of Embodied Mindfulness with companion CD & DVDs. She is also an award-winning poet/ songwriter - Awaken and Grateful, two CD's of poetry and music - andEmbrace.

Rita Jean Fleming

Rita Flemming is an artist and life activist! She has been practicing the yoga of integration her entire life and teaches around the world. She is a certified Regenerative Detoxification Specialist and iridologist; working to address the root cause of suffering. She works with regenerating the body, mind, and spirit in conjunction with regenerating the forests and the soils through syntropic techniques. She is a true lover and explorer of the Earth in all of its abundance and beauty.

Sail Cargo, Inc.

We will build and operate a combustion-free cargo sailing vessel by synthesizing old-world ship building techniques with avant-garde energy and propulsion systems design.

Our vision is to create a prosperous regenerative model that meets the ecological, ethical, and economic requirements of our rapidly changing world.

​Our objective as Costa Rica's Flagship is to demonstrate that a carbon neutral shipping company can not only be financially competitive, but can inspire change and educate.

Together, we can #SeaShippingChange

Samuel Reidy

Samuel is already on his way to be a professional surfer winning competitions around the world at the young age of 12. Surfing is his passion and he loves the ocean. To hear Sammy speak for the trees is a pleasure and a testament to the power of people everywhere to use their voice to give back to Mother Nature. Starting with the ACCT Kid's Nature Day club as a young tot, Sam has the personality and the understanding to be a powerful ZERO CARBON ATHLETE spokesperson. Sam's parents Heather and Derek Reidy are behind him all the way and are proud to support him in his efforts to speak for the rainforest trees. From the podium to the classroom, Sam is an intelligent and fun kid with a bright future!

Currently the Costa Rican National Champion 13 & under.

Traveling Globally competing in many different surf contests. This year I will be traveling to the East & West Coasts of the US, Sumatra, El Salvador, Australia, Panama & all over Costa Rica. I became a tree Ambassador to help reach my goal of becoming the first 0 footprint surf athlete. I want to be a part of healing our planet and oceans.

Sophie Harris

Top Preteen model of the year 2015

Sophie Harris lives in Costa Rica and travels the world as a successful child model using her voice to speak up for the rainforest trees! She began coming to Kid's Nature Day with ACCT so many years ago and has learned a lot about why community reforestation is the answer to so many environmental and social challenges facing the people and the animals struggling to survive and thrive sustainably with our Earth.

Sustainable Living Blog

Rohan is a content writer for Community Carbon Trees and Founder of The Food Forest, Sustainable Living Blog. He teaches people how to live sustainably by offsetting their carbon footprint through Community Carbon Trees!

The Flying Monkey Guest House

We at the Flying Monkey are so happy to be involved with Community Carbon Trees. We feel so fortunate to be an ambassador with such a wonderful cause in the country we love.

A little bit about us: The Flying Monkey is a beautiful 2 bedroom villa located in Canto del Mar, Dominicalito, Costa Rica, complete with its own infinity pool and stunning panoramic ocean/jungle views from all areas of the villa. The Flying Monkey is so fortunate to have an undisturbed wildlife corridor right in our backyard. Monkeys, sloths, iguanas, toucans and other birds love it here. Community Carbon Trees is rebuilding the rainforest, something that we, and the wildlife corridor, appreciate.

The Hemp Reporter

Déa Million has lived an unusual life as a world traveler, artist, and life student. She's been a freelance graphic artist and amateur photographer for 30 years, and has long been a concerned citizen and activist for the preservation of our natural and wild worlds. She believes that industrial hemp is the bridge to a new way of being... one that would never think of cutting down trees, forests, and jungles, nor use fossil fuels. www.HempReporter.com

Travis Targua Britzke

Socio-Biologist, Permaculture Designer, and Regenerative Farmer

Dedicating the past 13+ years of my life to personal and planetary wellness has rewarded me with deep insights into the subtle relations between People, Culture, and Nature.

o University Thesis on Socio-Biology, Positive Psychology, and Culture of Wellness

I've also served as social worker with immigrant families, tutor and mentor to "at-risk" youth and peace mediator. I have a passion for the wild and weedy “Thrival” plants, and enhancing the harvest with added energetic and nutritional value (fermenting, sprouting, cooking, etc...). .

REGENESIS 2020 - EARTHHEART- ACCT We are all in it together!

Treneti Brown

Treneti Brown, musician, somatic therapy practitioner, choreographer and devoted ambassador for GAIA. Treneti became a tree ambassador to realize a soul mission of guardianship to the planet by supporting her tree family. She feels that the way to restore balance on the planet is to give back to the land, “our trees give us so much and connect us all, we must maintain a healthy relationship to the forest if we want to survive” Treneti uses her music and dance as a means of encouraging, sacred remembrance and Earth connectivity. She inspires her community to recognize the importance of having a healthy diverse forests and to invest in that. Treneti intends to have a hand in the planting of 333,000 trees in her lifetime. “Every tree planted through ACCT is a step in that goal being met, so thank you.”~Treneti Brown

Upward Spirals

Upward Spirals is a regenerative think tank and consulting company, building tools, templates, guides, business plans, and social benefit programs for leaders of regenerative projects, to help us all accelerate the co-creation of a regenerative society.

This is our Catalyst Mission, our work to systematically empower the world’s most impactful organizations with the models, guides, programs and plans they need to develop regenerative local economies. Our early phases are focused on creating a regenerative community economy in Southern Costa Rica, as a self-replicating model, to expand exponentially to thousands of global organizations to support and accelerate their regional transition.

we are catalyzing the most impactful organizations’ ability to quickly create the new economic, education, and food systems society needs.

By making it easy, efficient, and profitable to develop and coordinate regenerative local economies, we are massively expanding the number of organizations working effectively together to create an ecologically balanced economy.

Uvita Adventure Tours

We offer tours with in the Marino Ballena National Park and its adjacent areas. We offer marine and terrestrial tours, mountain bike tours, kayak tours, andboat tours. We love to offer the opportunity for our guests to sponsor all kinds of diverse native rainforest trees for all the benefits they give us around the planet. Protecting the oceans means protecting the forests watershed draining into this precious marine environment we find in Costa Rica. Giving back to local communities in Costa Rica through creating tree planting and maintenance jobs is a great way to be a responsible tourist and give back to the country and her people struggling to save some of the last remaining rainforest on Earth. Creating jobs means stopping deforestation and supporting ACCT is a way for all of us to do just this. Save the rainforest! ONE TREE at a TIME.

Vincent Dupuis

Vincent Dupuis hails from Paris France and is committed to supporting solutions to balance climate change. He is a Climate Reality Leader studying with Al Gore March 2017 in Denver and looking forward to leading his network to plant trees on the Equator with fair pay to repair hydroligical cycles, soils and air quality. Vincent started his experience in Costa Rica and learned that Nature can be a place of comfort and inspiration. He is a world traveler who is looking to give back to Nature and serve as example for all who meet him onm his path. Thank you Vincent.